Tumbling Down
by MsMorg
Summary: These are varied prompts I received on Tumblr. All in good fun.
1. The Hickey

Caskett – The Hickey

* * *

"Castle, what the hell were you thinking?! You knew that I had to wear a dress today, and what do you do?! Give me a god damn hickey the size of Texas on my freaking neck!" She exclaimed, pulling back the hair from her neck for a better look.

"Well, Kate, since I have never seen your dress, I would have had no idea that your neckline wouldn't cover it," he smirked over her shoulder at her in the mirror.

"Really? You're going to play it like that? You're not _supposed_ to see me in the dress until we get married! Which we are! Today!" She placed one of her palms over her face and ran it down slowly.

"Yeah, we are," he sighed, his eyes glazing over and his thoughts drifting off into the clouds.

"You know what? Come here," she commanded, spinning around and pulling him closer to her.

"What?" He cried, startled out of his daydreaming.

In lieu of responding verbally, she just turned his head to the side and licked her way up his neck, then paused, biting down and sucking as hard as she could.

"Oh, very mature, Kate. Give me a hickey back in retaliation," he chastised, but made no move to withdraw from her grasp.

When she was finally satisfied with the mark, she pulled back and smiled victoriously in his face. "Now we're even, and look, we match." She raised an eyebrow at him in challenge.

"What? Did you expect me to push you away or be disapproving?" He shrugged, "Kate, I couldn't care less about having a hickey. I know that you gave it to me, and so does everyone else, there's a reason it's called a love bite." He winked at her.

"Yeah, I'll show you a 'love bite' later," she mumbled under her breath, turning back toward the mirror.

He kissed her cheek softly and murmured, "Do what you will, Kate, I'm more than happy to oblige."

She rolled her eyes. "Love you too, Castle."


	2. The Prank

Castle, Beckett, Alexis - pick any two, who play a prank on the third

* * *

"This is genius!" Rick exclaimed, "and it will get her back for all of the times she's left her stuff laying all over the loft!"

"I do feel kind of evil, like we're going to scar her for life, or worse, plant the seed of betrayal, in which she would retaliate tenfold," Kate reasoned.

"Come on, Beckett! It was your idea in the first place!" He whined, spinning her into his arms and hugging her from behind so they could survey their masterpiece together.

They had intentionally trashed the loft, well, most of it was intentional, some of it was just the aftermath of their first encounter after Rick's latest book tour. He was gone for a week, so there was a lot to make up for. At some point they remembered that Alexis was coming over for dinner so she could see her dad again, and catch up on things, but by then it was too late to really do anything about the mess. That was where the scheming began.

"_What if we just leave it all where it is? Pretend we forgot and go pretend to be getting it on in the office or something? She has a key, she'll let herself in and flip!" Kate grinned deviously, "Come on, it will be great payback for when she showed up out of the blue with… Pi," she ground the name out. She hadn't liked him either._

"_Oh, Kate, you're so cunning!" He kissed her briefly and pulled back to survey the loft, "but I think we need to up the ante. She'll be here in what, an hour? We can _so_ do better than this." He motioned around with a little arc of his head. _

"_You're right, let's mess up the kitchen!" Kate called, pushing up off the couch and rushing off to do just that._

_They took out the supplies for dinner and scattered them all over the counter, then in an attempt at authenticity, Castle hiked Kate up onto the counter, and kissed her soundly, effectively dispersing the majority of the components off in random directions and all over the floor. They smirked at each other as they pulled apart and set off in opposite directions to make a little more of a mess, before hopping in the shower together to quickly clean off._

They settled themselves on the couch in the office, dressed and ready for dinner, and pulled out some takeout menus. Cuddled together under the throw blanket, they perused the menus for something that sounded good, now that the kitchen was temporarily out of service.

When they heard the knock at the door, they smirked at each other and ignored it, tossing the menus on the coffee table and switching positions. Kate straddled Rick, and they pulled the blanket up over their heads, so Alexis couldn't tell that they were fully clothed when she went looking for them.

She knocked once more to no avail, finally shrugging it off, she took out her key and opened the door. "Hey guys, I'm-" she called before her eyes caught on the sight before her. The Living room was strewn with clothes, and everything else toppled or strewn about the floor, she was immediately worried that there had been a break-in, so she dialed her dad's phone as she surveyed the damage in the kitchen. There was pasta all over the counter and floor, and a huge red stain on the tile, that she mistook for blood. She heard her dad's phone ringing from the office, and followed the sound, scared of what she might find.

"Dad?" She cried out, worried when she didn't get a response.

She turned the corner around the bookcase and into the office and dropped her phone. He was obviously laying on the couch, completely covered with a blanket. Had someone broken in, killed him and covered him up? She stalked slowly over to the couch, building up her resolve to pull the blanket aside.

When she finally did, the fearful tears in her eyes dried up instantly and a surprised look graced her features. Under the blanket were Kate and her Father, making out like a couple of horny teenagers.

"What the Hell guys?!" She shrieked, tossing the blanket back over them.

They immediately stopped, smiling at each other and chuckling a little under their breath.

"Hey, Alexis, when did you get here? Didn't hear you knock," Kate greeted the girl, getting up from the couch and smoothing down her hair.

"Hey, Pumpkin! How was your week?" Rick asked nonchalantly.

"Really? That's all you have to say for yourselves? The loft is _trashed_! What did you guys _do?_" She questioned. "Actually, don't answer that, I don't want to know." She shuddered at the thought.

"Oh, you know, a little of this a little of that…" Rick shrugged, making no move to get up from the couch.

"Well, how about we um… go out for dinner?" Alexis practically begged, "I don't know if I could stomach eating on the table until it has been disinfected several times."

"Sounds good, oh, and Alexis…?" Kate responded for the both of them.

"What?" She turned back around to face them.

"Gotcha!" They exclaimed together.


	3. The Rap

The Whole Caskett story set to the tune of Fresh Prince of Bel Air

* * *

Now, this is a story all about how  
My life got flipped-turned upside down  
And I liked to take a minute  
Just sit right there  
I'll tell you how we became writer and muse, one sexy-ass pair

In the theatre district, born and raised  
In the library is where I spent most of my days  
Writing in the stacks, using books as tools  
Yachts, private parties, book launches, so cool  
When one bad guy  
Who was up to no good  
Started killing people just like I would  
I worked one case and talked to the mayor  
He said "Go work with Detective Beckett, you make quite a pair!"

I begged an pleaded with her day after day  
But we just worked cases, putting bad guys away  
She gave me a kiss and then she told me to shove it  
I put on my flannel and tried not to love it

She got shot, and that was real bad  
Sitting in the waiting room with my mom and her dad  
Is this what real life is like?  
She dates a guy who rides around on a bike?  
I left her alone and then we were finally near  
It took her a while to see my feelings were clear  
If anything, I can say this love is rare  
Our wedding is coming with marches and fanfare

I crashed my car around 7 or 8  
And watches as she yelled my name in the air  
She looked at the crash  
It was finally fair  
I got her back for that damn birthday scare

* * *

**AN: Hey, I just want to thank everyone that has taken the time to read and review these short prompts. Seeing as I haven't had any real writing mojo lately, it really feels good to get some feedback on even the smallest of things.**

**Thanks again,**

**Morgen**


	4. The Shot

Kate gets shot again, only this time she's wearing a vest. Ideally pre-couple, but either's good :-)

* * *

_The bullet arcs towards her, each twist and rotation visible to her, even as other images cloud her mind._

_Kate is shot in the vest, a facsimile of her previous wound._

_She is so distraught, she rips the vest off the moment the gunman is felled, and tosses it to the floor. She falls to her knees, gasping for breath, unable to catch it until a familiar pair of arms find their way around her, bring her face up to look into her eyes. He tells her to take a deep breath, that everything is going to be okay. A breath stutters past her lips and holds when she meets his eyes. _

"You with me, Kate?" He asked, mirroring the words he had whispered to her as she lay bleeding in the grass beneath him, though she wasn't sure if the phrasing was intentional or not.

"Yeah, I won't leave you," she replied, quickly adding, "_that easily!" _She said it to break the tension, letting a harsh laugh escape her, which was followed by a cringe of pain.

"What was that?" was his immediate response, his brain still caught on her words, so eerily similar to some that he had uttered months ago on that fateful day.

"I said I'm with you. Look, let's get out of here and down to the paramedics so they can check me out and say, 'yup, she's fine, why don't you take her home though, just to be safe.' And then you can take me home like you dream about every day," she chuckled again, making a face as the movement jarred her bruised chest.

"Another joke, hmmm?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Who's deflecting now, detective?" His tone was a bit icy, but he just shook his head, pulled her up, and turned to leave.

"Wait! What?" She exclaimed, grabbing his sleeve before he could move further away from her.

"You always accuse me of using humor to deflect, and you're doing it now, maybe I'm rubbing off on you." He shrugged again, easing his wrist out of her grip.

"Maybe you are, maybe I want you to."

"Sure, Beckett, but let's get you checked out first," he appeased as he bent down to grab her vest from the floor and mumbled_, "for a head injury."_

"Castle, I didn't hit my head, I just- my life- it's almost as if I saw my whole life in a slow-motion replay as the bullet was coming at me," she attempted to explain, even as he scoffed.

"Sure Beckett, sure, you suddenly believe in your life flashing before your eyes." He turned away from her again even as he rolled his eyes.

"It happened, Rick, and I-" she drew a deep breath and spun him around before continuing, "what I saw were all of the moments I spent with you. Each and every moment, the funny, the sad, the happy, the mad, all of them." She looked up, finally meeting his surprised eyes.

"You definitely must have hit your head, let's get you to a medic," he said, ushering her out the door and into the elevator.

"Seriously, I-" she heaved another breath with a bit of effort, and placed a hand over his heart, "I know what you said last time, and it's practically all I can think about."

He just stared at her, not believing his ears, or his eyes, or his sense of touch for that matter. He pinched himself in the thigh and gritted his teeth against the pain, it wasn't a dream, but maybe it was a trick.

"Look, Beckett, I'm not exactly sure where you're trying to go with this, or if you're even aware of what you're saying or doing. Maybe you're in shock or something. I don't know, but I do know that you couldn't possibly mean what you're saying, because that's not something the Kate I know would say, none of this is."

"Maybe I am in shock, maybe that's what it took for me to get it through my thick skull that if I don't act now, I may lose you forever. Maybe that's what I was seeing as that bullet came at me, all of the missed opportunities, or all of the opportunities I would miss out on if I had died from that bullet. I don't know what it was or what it meant, but what I took from it is that I should tell you how I feel, and tell you now, before it's too late."

He paused for a long moment before he just went the most direct route. "Okay, how do you feel?"

She didn't even think about her answer. "I feel like you make my life better at work, and if I gave you the chance, you would make it better at home, and I could finally be happy again."

"Anything else?" He asked, hoping she would just say what he wanted to hear.

"And… I – I love you?" It came out as a question, but he took it for what it was, the three words he wanted to hear from her.

"Good, me too," he smirked at her, walking off the elevator as the doors opened.

She just stared after him for a few moments.

"Wait! Castle! Where are you going?!" She called after him, stepping off the car just as the doors began to close. "I thought we were having a moment!"

"Well, I'm going to find a medic to check you out and give you the all clear," he called over his shoulder. Then after thinking over his words, "A female medic… we don't need you meeting another hot young medical professional and running off with him after a confession like that... as I plan to have much more than a moment with you." He threw a wink over his shoulder at her and ran smack into the paramedic he was 'looking' for.

"Castle…" she sighed, rolling her eyes.

* * *

**AN: There's another prompt down, maybe I'll get some "real" writing in soon...**

**Thanks for reading,**

**~Morgen**


	5. The Cellmate

**Bracken's Bad Luck**

**Crack!Fic Prompt: Early seasons Caskett banter, but with inmate Bracken and his overly-amorous cellmate who thinks he's purty.**

* * *

"In you go, Bracken, have fun with your new pal!" The guard chuckled, shoving former Senator Bracken into his new home, a 9x13 cell for two, equipped with two bunks, a sink and a toilet.

"Yo, Mr. Jones, who's this guy?" The other inmate called, from his bunk, looking down at Bracken with some interest.

"Your new 'Buddy', have fun with this one Jack, but don't wreck him like you did the last one, we were cleaning up for weeks!"

Bracken swallowed hard, backing into the corner as the guard walked away after sealing the cell door.

"Oh don't worry, Buddy-boy, he's just teasing, I didn't wreck the last one, he just decided to take the easy way out of prison and slit his wrists with a homemade shiv," Jack teased, hopping down off his top bunk.

"Uh, hey, look, I was a Senator, I have money, if you just leave me alone, I'll pay you, whatever you want, just seriously, don't… _touch_ me," Bracken stammered nervously.

"Oh, yeah, I heard about you, you ever pay someone for something other than a murder…? Any _favors_? If you know what I mean…" he trailed off, waggling his eyebrows salaciously.

"Um… Uh… No, no um, _favors_. I'm a happily married man. _Was," he corrected._

"That's too bad, guess you'll have to just have to see what the other side is like in here then," Jack smirked, inching closer to him.

"Wait, No, please! I said I'd pay you anything you want not to _touch _me!" He cried, pressing further back against the wall.

"Oh, well, maybe by the time your stint is done in here, you'll be paying me _to_ touch you…" and with that, he made his way over to the man and whispered, "I'd be happy to spank you."

* * *

**AN: I know that's not everyone's cup of tea, that's one reason it's short.**


	6. Oh, Baby

**Oh, Baby. - A Castle Crack!fic Prompt**

**Prompt: Esposito meets Ryan's little sister and they hit it off. Four months later he finds out he's the baby daddy.**

* * *

"You sure your brother didn't see us leave together?" He asked, looking over his shoulder, as if said brother would come running down the hotel hallway at any moment.  
"Yeah, positive. He was too busy making googly eyes at Jenny to notice us slipping out the side door," she giggled, stumbling into his side.  
"Good, I have a room up on the fourth floor, care to put it to good use?" He winked at her, pulling her closer by the hips.  
"Hell yes!" She exclaimed, pulling his face down to hers in a sloppy kiss.

...

The first mistake was letting her unwrap the condom. She did what she had seen hundreds of times on tv and movies, she bit it between her teeth and ripped the wrapper open, as well as biting a small hole in the side of the condom. Then she rolled it down the length of him, but didn't leave a bubble at the top. It was dark, he was drunk, he didn't notice.

...

Four months later, after a night neither truly remembered fully, the younger Ryan appeared at the precinct looking for not her brother, but his partner…  
"Hey sis, what are you doing here?" Kevin greeted his younger sister with a smile and a one-armed hug.  
"Um… Just seeing how you guys are getting along here at the station…" She trailed off.  
"Precinct," he corrected automatically.  
"Right, look- is your partner around? There's something I want to talk to him about." She got straight to the point.  
"Oh, yeah, he's in the break room, I think he might be taking a nap," he chuckled, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb.  
"Alright, well, I'll go check," she shrugged, heading in the direction he had gestured.

...

After a few minutes of watching him rest peacefully, she kicked the side of the couch, jarring him awake.  
"Huh?" He said blearily, sitting up slightly.  
"Hey, Javier," she breathed out slowly.  
"Oh, hey Little Ryan, what's up?" He blinked, her face finally coming fully into focus.  
"We need to talk about what happened the night of my brother's wedding…" She trailed off.  
"I thought we agreed that was a one-time thing," he arched an eyebrow at her, not understanding why she was suddenly changing her mind.  
"Well, I guess one time is more than enough to create a life…" She said cryptically.  
It took him exactly five seconds to process what she said before he was up off the break room couch and backing out the door.  
"Wait, you didn't tell Kev, did you?" He questioned, the hope that she hadn't clear in his eyes.  
"No…"  
"Tell me what?" Detective Ryan said, walking up behind Esposito.  
"Uh, um… Nothing, Bro," he went for nonchalant, but he spoke the same moment she did.  
"Just a bit of a surprise from the Heavens…" She singsonged.  
"… What?" Kevin asked, unable to distinguish one line of dialogue.  
"I'm pregnant, Kev," she sighed.  
He looked at her for a long moment, then, as if a light bulb went off, he looked over at Esposito, who looked rather sheepish.  
Then, in a voice rarely heard from the quiet Irishman, "YOU GOT MY SISTER PREGNANT?! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"  
…

* * *

**A/N: Some of you know that I haven't had my laptop for a week... and it was a long week without it. ... Long story short, don't go to Geek Squad.**

**~Morgen**


	7. Caramel Candies

Caramel Candies –

* * *

One afternoon, rifling through Beckett's apartment as usual, Castle stumbled upon an old jar of candies. He, being the nine year old on a sugar rush that he was, had to give one a shot. It was quite possibly his biggest mistake to date. It was all goopy on the outside rather than hard, as it should have been.

"Uh, Kate?" He called, "How old are these candies?" He shook the jar at her as he attempted to unstick the candy from between his teeth, which was proving to be rather difficult.

She poked her head out of the bathroom where she had been getting ready for their night out, and burst out laughing. The look on his face as he tried to dislodge the candy with his tongue coupled with his tie that was severely askew was just… adorable. She swiftly snatched up her phone from the counter and snapped a picture of him, smirking to herself.

"Kate!" He whined from between his clenched teeth, the candy was essentially wiring his jaw shut, if only temporarily, "It's not funny!"

She chuckled at the slurring/lisping sound that the candy was causing when he spoke. "Oh my God, Castle, those candies were from my Great Aunt Mel's house! She died like six years ago!" She laughed in earnest, "I think she'd had them since I was a kid…" she trailed off, remembering the jar of candies that she used to fish in as a child, giggling as her great aunt caught her and smiled, holding a finger to her lips and winking at the girl.

He sputtered, rushing past her into the bathroom, trying to spit the candy out now. "What the _Hell_, Kate?! Who keeps decades old candy?" He exclaimed. She was doubled over laughing at this point, she could hardly breathe. He rolled his eyes at her antics before ensuing in his own, repeatedly spitting into the sink after finally dislodging the candy from his molars. When she finally sobered, she patted him on the back as he ran the tap, swishing the water and spitting it back out several times.

"They are really just there for decoration, the gold wrappers in the clear jar look nice…" she smiled at his reflection.

"Okay, that's fine, but why are they that old?" He thought for a moment, "How did they not get blown up in the explosion in your last apartment?" He questioned, gargling some mouthwash and spitting it promptly back out, and looking to her for an answer.

"My dad had them for a while, the jar was up at the cabin. I brought it back with me after last summer… memories, you know?" She sighed, letting herself get caught up in them again.

"Oh, Kate…" He whispered, turning around to pull her into his chest. "How about we pick you up some new Werther's while we're out tonight?" He murmured into her hair, kissing the top of her head, "and maybe we can drop some off at your great aunt's grave too, hmmm?"

"That's sweet Castle. She would appreciate it, she would have liked you," Kate half-smiled.

"Of course she would have! We both have a deep love for the same thing!"

"Okay, Cheeseball…" She rolled her eyes, burying her head back into his chest and shaking it slightly.

"Werther's Originals!" He exclaimed, laughing even as she shoved him back and smacked him on the chest.

* * *

**AN: I'm back from vacation! ... but still a bit busy! I'm gonna try to work on some of my multichaps this month, so cross your fingers!**

**These prompts are always floating around in my brain, don't worry!**


	8. The Stakeout

Fic Prompt: Castle and Beckett on a stakeout. Castle's being completely oblivious (i.e., annoying) about the fact that Beckett is trying to get up the nerve to ask/tell him something important about their personal relationship

* * *

It was a quiet night, winter nights usually are. People don't like to wander around in the near pitch black freezing their butts off along the way. A taxi passed by, chugging its way along, bringing its occupants home from a late dinner. A late dinner wouldn't be such a bad thing, given the company, she thought. Maybe if she just asked him, but then he would probably volunteer to go pick something up for the both of them, and that's not necessarily what she wanted. She wanted a real dinner, a date, a meal shared between to people who cared for each other. Well, at least she hoped he still cared. He was still around, of course, but he hadn't said or done anything lately that would have hinted to her that he was still in love with her. He still supplied her coffee, still came in to the precinct, but his eyes had started to lose their sparkle, he seemed distant. She needed to fix this.

"Castle?" Kate asked quietly, disturbing the silence of the car they were confined in. He turned his head from the window he had been staring out of watching for their perp, raised an eyebrow in question, but didn't respond. "How long has it been since you've been on a date?" She asked, not knowing if her question was too obvious, or subtle.

He thought for a few moments, his eyes drifting back out the window, it was starting to ice over again, Kate noticed. "I suppose it's been a while," he mused, "though, I'm usually at the precinct with you guys until all hours of the night, so dates are kind of hard to schedule. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I just- you know, I wanted to make sure I wasn't keeping you from anything tonight," she replied, but she could have slapped herself, that wasn't the answer she wanted to give, she'd have to try again. "I was thinking-" she began again quietly, but he interrupted her.

"No, I didn't have any plans. Alexis is always busy with school stuff, it seems, and this stakeout is as good a distraction as any. I mean, I could be holed up at home playing video games, but that just seems pathetic," he shrugged. "Though, this would be a lot more interesting if it were summer and there were less clothes involved," he grinned and winked at her, scrubbing his sleeve against the window to clear it of the skim ice that had collected.

"I guess that's what I wanted to talk to you about…" Kate trailed off, trying to gather her thoughts.

"What? Me playing video games? I mean, I do that on a pretty regular basis, Beckett, but don't worry, I've kept my killing strictly in-game, no homicides for you to worry about from me!" he joked, but she didn't laugh, she was trying to be serious.

"Castle, look, just- just shut up for a minute," she sighed, letting her frustration out, he looked at her quizzically, but remained silent. Gathering a breath, she began, "Castle, I know you've been waiting for me to be ready, and I just don't know if I ever will be, I mean, sometimes I just want to tear my hair out, and other times I just want to- to- to kiss you!" His eyes widened, but he was speechless. She continued on, "I think, maybe we should just go for it. The walls I told you about before, it's like sometimes they aren't there at all, and other times they're thicker than concrete. I just want to be happy, and I can say without a doubt that you make me happy, Rick, you always make me happy." A single tear ran down her face, and she swiped at it as he continued to stare at her. His eyes were softer now, but he still seemed unsure of what to say. "Can we just, I don't know, go out to dinner and when we're done, go back to your place and curl up together in front of your fireplace?" It seemed like a fair request, a simple dinner and then just being together, it didn't seem too hard, too fast, they'd had dinner before, they'd sat together before, it wasn't so different.

"Beckett," he began, but decided against it. "Kate," he sighed, "I would love to have dinner with you, but I need to be sure you're in this. If the walls are still there, I get that, but if you freeze me out sometime in the future because of them, how am I supposed to know if you'll ever come back?" It was an honest question, one that worried him, and worried her too.

"You… you should take this," she reached up and unclasped her mother's ring from around her neck before placing it in his hand that rested on his thigh. She held it there for a few moments, enjoying the feel of her hand in his before she continued, "You hold on to that, keep it safe until you know that I'm not going anywhere, and when you're sure of that, give it back to me."

"You mean… return it to you, or ask you to- um- wear it?" He asked, his voice soft, eyes shimmering slightly in the light of the lamppost outside.

"Whatever you think is best," she smiled, squeezing his hand in hers. He returned her smile and ran his thumb over her knuckles.

"So, this dinner that you want to have… can it be tonight? Do we really have to continue this stakeout? It's winter, I'm cold, you're cold, we could just pack it in for the night and eat some warm food, sit in front of the fire, talk…" His eyes held so much hope that she couldn't turn him down, not after what he had just conceded to her.

"Yeah, Rick, you're right, it's winter, this guy isn't going anywhere tonight. Let me just radio to Ryan and Espo to let them know we're heading out." She reluctantly pulled her hand from his to operate the radio. As she did, he tucked the chain and ring into his inside breast pocket, patting it gently against his heart, she couldn't keep the smile off her face, or her hands to herself at that. She reached over and hooked her hand around the back of his head and pressed her lips to his softly. It was a mostly chaste kiss, but it said all that was needed.

* * *

**AN: Alright, that's what I've got for that... I promise I'm working on my multichaps, but these are just so much easier to get out than the behemoths that those tend to be. With that said, please feel free to prompt me on Tumblr or Twitter, I can usually get them done within the day.**


	9. Careless Blunder

Fic prompt: Carelessness on the part of Castle and/or Beckett gets one of the boys shot

"Come on Beckett, it's just surveillance, no one has been by in _hours_. One little quickie is not going to hurt any…" he smirked devilishly before adding, "well, depending on how we do this, we'd both have to contort a little bit, but the reward is worth it, don't you think?" He pled his case well, just as he had been for the last half an hour. The mics were off, and Esposito and Ryan were tucked safely away inside the motel, posing as black market body parts dealers, taking turns sleeping as they waited for their suspect to come in with a package. This sting relied upon two things, the guys had to look like reputable, but sleazy black market dealers, and the surveillance had to warn them of when the guy was coming so they could call in the backup that was stationed in a room down the hall.

He was right though, no one was going to come at this time of night, and the meet was set for early morning anyway. She and Castle could sneak away for a few minutes to have a little fun in the back of the van and cross another thing off of his ever-expanding list. So, she acquiesced.

The made quick work of undressing each other, at least partially, and dove into it. They'd done this in cars enough times, even in the back of his _new_ Mercedes, and come to think of it, the old one too, that they knew just the right amount of clothing to remove, just the right ways to move, this way and that to reach their peaks and be on their merry way back into the blissful land of boredom once again.

Somewhere during their escapade though… something went wrong. They weren't watching like they should have been. The guy got through to the room without any warning… The SWAT team that was waiting in the adjacent room wasn't alerted until it was too late, a shot already fired. The shot was like a bucket of ice water. What had they done? They'd gotten carried away and now one of their guys could be bleeding to death because they had indulged in each other instead of doing their job.

Beckett grabbed her microphone instantly, turning it on and upping the volume. "Are you guys alright?" she panted into the mic.

"Yeah, fine, mostly," Espo grunted on the other side of the line, clutching his shoulder, turning into the light of the bathroom mirror to see the extent of the damage. "The bastard grazed me, but I'll be okay. Why didn't you guys warn us? A heads up would have been nice." He was fairly certain he knew the answer, but he wanted to call them out.

"The batteries died, we were replacing them!" Castle jumped in, not wanting to admit what they had been doing, seeing as Espo had been shot because of it.

"Yeah, I'm sure the batteries died on something… Maybe your electric sex restraints," he muttered at them.

"Wow, that's weak Espo. You sure you're alright? You usually have better comebacks than that." Beckett prodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just put some clothes on and let's book this SOB," he flipped off the light in the bathroom and rolled his eyes toward Ryan who had been listening to the whole conversation and shrugged.

It's not like they all hadn't been there before.

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**AN: It may be a while until I update anything other than this. I was hoping to, but I am under an enormous amount of stress, being my senior year of college, and it may take just a bit for me to settle into a rhythm again.**


	10. Hearing Voices

**Crack!fic prompt: Castle starts hearing voices in his head**

***** I'm assuming you want me to make him crazy, but I'm gonna make him psychic instead.**

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Castle had just walked into the bullpen, the noise a normal everyday hum of activity. Beckett smiled at him as he crossed the room and plopped down in his chair next to her desk, handing her one of the cups of coffee in his hands.

"Hey Castle," Kate began, looking down at her cup before she took a sip, her brow furrowing immediately. "Look, I know we're married, but Rick, drawing weird hearts and crap on my coffee cup is not appropriate."

"What?" He asked, peering over the desk to lid of her cup. She was right, there were hearts and other various symbols all over the cup. How had he not noticed that before? He shook his head, "Kate, I didn't draw those, and I'm sorry, that must be my cup. I went to a different coffee shop this morning, it was on the way here from Black Pawn. I don't think I'll be going back…" he trailed off, looking up at her to confirm, she just stared at him, obviously unamused and held the coffee out to him, and her other hand for her own coffee. "I'm sorry! I didn't notice! How can I make it up to you?"

"Don't worry about it, just don't go back," she took a sip of her coffee, and seemed to change her mind, "or if you do, bring our reusable cups, because this coffee is actually really good."

"Duly noted," he sighed, and took a sip of his own coffee, heart symbols and all. His eyes widened at the flavor, it was truly excellent, he grinned, at least he had picked a good place, hearts be damned. Little did he know that all those heart symbols were actually a very powerful spell.

_Mmmm. Damn. This is some really good coffee, I'll have to show Rick some heart symbols of my own later._

"What was that?" Rick choked, spewing a few droplets of coffee on a closed report on Beckett's desk.

"I said the coffee's good, geez Castle, it's like you've never heard me give a compliment before," she rolled her eyes and wiped off the report's cover before flipping it open. He shrugged and took another sip of his coffee.

_I didn't say that out loud, right? No. Of course not. He's just being an idiot. God, what a mess, double homicide… ugh, with a hatchet._

Rick's eyes widened again, but this time he didn't say anything. Just sat there, stone still, attempting not to let anything show on his face as she perused reports and filled in any new information she had from her email.

_God, it's too bad we got in so late last night, I was really hoping we would get the chance to reconnect._ A secretive smile and a slight blush spread across her face. _Oh God, if he only knew how badly I wanted him this morning. Pancakes? So hot. But we were already dressed, and he had his meeting with __**Gina**_… The name sounded growled. Could you growl in your thoughts? Huh. Wait. Thoughts. He was reading her mind. HE WAS READING HER MIND! It finally struck him that he was listening to the private musings of his… muse.

"Hey Beckett," he began softly, but she didn't seem to hear him, caught up in her own inner monologue. _Ugh, the way he licked the syrup off of his fork, I just wanted to shove his face between my legs and put his tongue to a better use._ He cleared his throat, her thoughts turning him on and causing his voice to become feeble. "Kate," he breathed in her ear, "can we go somewhere private to talk for a minute?"

_Oh. Oh no. We can't go somewhere private. If we go somewhere private I'm going to rip his clothes off._ "Castle, we're at work, I need to work, and you need to… watch or something," she stated gruffly, her sexual frustration manifesting in her tone of voice. _I hope that wasn't too rude, but really, I wouldn't be held responsible for what would happen if we stole away into the supply closet… not responsible, but I would be held…_Her mind drifted to images of them going at it again.

"Jesus, Kate, I'm not trying to get into your pants, I just want to talk to you, and I don't think it can wait," he pleaded. Her eyes flashed to his, her cheeks coloring slightly again, his face looked somewhat strained, and she instantly felt horrible for what she had said. _God, why do I always seem to come off as a bitch?_ "Really, Kate, just a minute of your time, I just need to tell you something."

"Okay," she murmured, pushing away from her desk and following behind him to the break room. _So we really are just going to talk… He didn't drag me away to the supply closet._

He closed the door softly behind her and leaned back against it.

"Kate, I know you're going to think I'm being silly or I'm crazy or whatever…" he paused, taking a deep breath, just as she did, "but I swear to God I can hear your thoughts."

"What?! Castle, is that why you dragged me in here? Are you serious? That's ridiculous!" She prattled off, her thoughts immediately jumping from worried to outraged. _If he could actually read my thoughts, he definitely wouldn't have dragged me in here over the supply room. He wouldn't be able to resist my mental proposition._

"I'm reading your mind right now Beckett! I'm not crazy! I'm not even trying or anything! I can just … hear them! I don't know what happened! One minute nothing, the next, a cacophony of internal groans about not having sex!" He whisper-yelled as she gasped. _No. No way. He couldn't possibly. Telepathy doesn't exist! Wait, no. I still don't believe this. He may have some willpower, but there's no way he would pass up a straight proposition from me, he loves sex too much._

"Beckett, don't test me. I _do_ love sex with you too much to refuse you if you actually ask me out loud," he groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers and then scrubbing his hands over his face. _Okay… so… he used the exact same phrasing as I did inside my head… but maybe that's just our 'connection' that everyone's always talking about. Though, I can think of a better connection between us… _Her mind drifted again. "Just please, stop thinking about sex!" he exclaimed, rearranging himself in his pants, "or I won't be held responsible for dragging you to the supply closet and fulfilling the fantasies I saw in your head." She just stood there, for once her mind blank, and his was as well, the room, their minds, both quiet.

He heard what she was about to say a fraction of a second before she said it, "well, I think we should probably leave for the day, considering you are obviously ill, and will need me to _take care of you_," she husked.

A grin spread across his face at exactly the same pace the smirk spread across hers.

Maybe hearing voices wasn't such a bad thing…

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**AN: HUMP DAY! **

**... So I'm working my way through writing/editing/posting this stack of prompts... And I'm always open to more!**


	11. Bath Warfare

**Future!Fic: Beckett gets home to find Castle goofing around while bathing their kid – Lou**

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"Pew! Pew!" Came Rick's voice from somewhere in the loft, "Aha! I've got you now, Skywalker!"

"Never!" Their son, Arthur, shouted back, "You'll never catch me, you stupid Imperial!"

Kate snorted, it was just like Castle to play Star Wars with their kids on a day off instead of working. She followed the sounds of space warfare to the master bathroom, peeking in to find Rick waving around an Imperial starship whilst, Arthur piloted a miniature X-wing fighter.

"Bzzzzt!" Arthur sounded, pretending to shoot at Rick's ship.

"Oh no!" Rick cried, making his ship crash into the bathtub where Arthur sat splashing around in victory.

"Yay! The Rebels win!" He cheered before Rick gave him a noogie and began washing his hair.

"Alright, enough playing. Let's finish this bath before your mom gets home and goes all Xena on you, Mister Arthur Conan the Barbarian!"

"Dad! She wouldn't be mad at me! She would be mad at you! She'd even do the yell! Aiyiyiyiyiyiyiyi!" He shrieked, doing the famed Xena war cry.

"Ouch! Jeez! Where did you learn how to do that?" Rick asked him, holding his hands over his ears.

"From mom! She's really good at it! She taught me when we had a Xena marathon while you were away on your book tour last month!" He exclaimed animatedly, while Rick's face slackened in shock.

Kate chose that moment to interrupt. "Oh come on, Castle, you didn't think that I only ever went to Con as Lieutenant Chloe, did you…?" She smirked, sauntering into the room and lifting his chin to close his mouth.

"Wh-what…? Y-you were… Xena?!" He finally choked out, his eyes wide and full of wonder, though not nearly as full as his brain, buzzing with fantasies of Kate dressed as Xena the Warrior Princess. He swallowed hard as she chuckled and shook his head slowly to clear it, then pulled her ear to his mouth, "We're going to discuss this further later." His whisper was ominous, and it made a shiver of anticipation run down her spine.

"So, Sherlock, what did you do to earn yourself a bath at four in the afternoon?" Kate asked, kneeling beside the tub by Castle, and arching an eyebrow at their son.

"Well, Dad was writing, and I know I'm not supposed to bug him when he's writing, so I tried to get the juice down off the top shelf of the fridge and I spilled it everywhere," he admitted, looking genuinely apologetic and sad. "I didn't get to drink any," he pouted.

"So, what did you learn?" Kate asked him, trying to at least make this a lesson.

"To ask for help, even if Dad is busy?" He guessed, his answer having the inflection of a question, as if he hadn't given it much thought.

"Almost," Kate encouraged.

"To ask for help…" he thought a moment, "and to ask you guys to put the juice on a lower shelf?"

Castle chuckled, holding out his hand for a low-five. "Good one, Artie, and yes, we'll put the juice on a lower shelf for you."

Kate rolled her eyes at their interaction. Arthur was practically a miniature version of Castle that she liked to corrupt while he was gone on tours and the like, but then again, if the scene she witnessed when she got home was any indication, Castle was doing plenty of corruption of his own.

"Alright, let's get you out of the bath and into some PJs! We'll have breakfast for dinner and watch a movie, how does that sound?" Kate grinned at him, kissing him on the top of his head and ruffling his hair.

"Awesome! Can we watch that space cowboy one with the guy that looks like dad?"

"Sure sweetie," she smiled, hugging him about his shoulders with one arm and squeezing.

"I'm gonna go throw on some pajamas. You okay to finish in here on your own Castle?" She asked, placing a kiss on his cheek.

"Yeah, we'll be out in a few minutes," he murmured in response, quickly kissing the tip of her nose.

"Ewww! Not in front of the K-I-D!" Arthur groaned, covering his eyes.

"Oh, calm down. That kiss was as chaste as they come, Artie," Rick teased, scrubbing his hand through his son's hair, tousling it further.

Kate left the bathroom with a huge grin on her face, they really were a big family of dorks.

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**AN: I couldn't help myself, I waited all of 24 hours before posting this one. :P As always, if you have any prompts just laying around, you can submit them to my ask box on tumblr under 'msmorg' or even my twitter of the same name! **

***hearts* Morgen**


	12. Truth Serum

**Crack!Fic prompt: Castle. Beckett. Truth serum. Pre-couple. – Lou**

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The captors had thought merely dosing them with sodium pentothal would be sufficient. They sat them down in chairs facing each other, hands tied behind their backs and asked them questions whilst implying they would inflict bodily harm upon one or the other of the duo until they talked. When the captors left, they were left there to wait. They were in an abandoned building just off the highway, their car still out front, phones inside, they had just been checking the place out.

"You two don't get yourselves into any trouble," one of the masked men chuckled as they ventured out the door and into the night.

"Beckett, are you alright?" Castle asked the moment they were alone.

"I'm fine, they didn't even touch me, but to tie me up and administer the truth serum," she replied, fighting to loosen the ropes holding her hands together behind her.

"I was so afraid they were going to hurt you, I couldn't let that happen. I had to tell them," he said, hanging his head in shame.

"I know, Castle, it's okay, I understand. I talked too, remember?" She attempted to catch his eyes, even as they pointed at the ground. "Really Castle, I wouldn't have let them get away with hurting you, I care too much about you."

He looked up at that. "You care about me?"

"Of course, Castle, we've been working together for how long now? Three years? Do you really think I would have let you stick around that long if I wasn't secretly in love with you?" Her eyes bulged just as much as his did at her admission.

"You're in love with me?" He looked dazed, and suddenly pulled his arms around in front of him and scratched his head. "Wow, that's a shock, I really thought you hated me after this last summer, you showing off Josh all of the time, letting him interrupt multiple conversations of ours…"

"Hate you, Castle? No, never. I was trying to make you jealous. When Gina showed up last summer, she interrupted me saying I wanted to join you in the Hamptons, and I just shut down. I got jealous, I grew angry, and I went out clubbing almost every weekend, trying to fill my time as much as possible, and that's where I met Josh, at a club, he used some lame-ass line on me, and I was about to turn him down until I realized I had nothing better to do." She shrugged, finally freeing her own hands and bringing them around to rub at her wrists.

"So, what? He was a rebound? Is a rebound? From me? But we never even dated!" He muddled through his thoughts out loud, rattling off question after question, "Why are you still with him? You've known that I haven't been with Gina for months, I don't get it. Don't you feel bad for using him?"

"No, not really a rebound… he's more of a placeholder, and believe me, I know we never dated," she sighed, pulling her hair back away from her face before continuing, "and sure, I feel bad for using him, but he's using me just as much, it's a mutual thing. He kept getting invited to his coworkers' weddings over the summer and needed a plus one, and lo and behold, the wedding receptions all had free food and open bars."

"Beckett, don't you think that's a little reckless, given your father's history with alcoholism?" He asked her, concern shining in his eyes.

"I know the dangers I face by drinking so much, but I'm not my dad, Castle, I won't become an alcoholic. I've cut back since you came back to the precinct. I don't drink as much or as often, as I did at the beginning of the summer, I swear."

"I'm just sorry I did this to you, made you reach for a crutch like alcohol just to make it through the day," his tone was somber now, his head hanging in his hands.

"Castle, it's not all your fault," she reached out and ran her fingers through the hair on the top of his head, lifting his gaze from the floor to look him in the eye. "I could have fought for my chance at the beginning of the summer, just as you could fight now…" she trailed off, leaving the ball in his court.

"Beckett," he thought better of that, "No, um-Kate," he nodded, Kate sounded better, "Kate, I have loved you since you told me the story of the life you lost and the life you saved. Trusting me with that information was the biggest thing you could have done, and you did it, even if I went around your back and looked into your mother's murder. Actually, especially after that," he looked into her eyes, catching the emotion in hers, "you let me back in, even after that, and to me, that was huge."

"So… where does that leave us?" She asked hesitantly.

"In an abandoned building?" He answered immediately.

She rolled her eyes. "No, you goof, where does that leave our relationship?"

"I don't know, Beckett, you're the one in a relationship with someone else, not me," he responded, if a little acerbically.

"You're right, and that's my problem to resolve," he nodded resolutely. "After that, though, where would we be after that?" Her voice grew smaller, as if unsure.

"We would be ready, I hope," he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath through his nose.

"Ready for what?" She was really pushing, she needed a concrete answer.

"Ready to have this conversation without sodium pentothal flowing through our veins," he sighed, turning from her to look out the warehouse window.

"Castle," she tugged on his sleeve, "Rick, look at me." He turned back, his eyes lingering on the window a moment more before settling on her face and boring into her. "I need to know," she breathed.

"Kate, I love you, if you wanted to, I would take you down to city hall or to Vegas and sign the papers then and there, sign away my life to you, just as I did the day I started shadowing you," he let out in a rush, turning away again when he was finished, bashful after admitting how deep his feelings truly went.

"That may be a little fast, but at least now I know where we stand," she nodded, patting his shoulder with one hand, the other hanging limply at her side.

"That makes one of us," he spoke lowly, not even intending to say it, but having it slip out anyway.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She shot back.

"You know where I stand, and you know where you stand, so for you, that adds up nicely to 'where we stand', but I don't know where you stand, Beckett. I just laid my heart out on the line there, and I don't know," once the flow of his words started, it was hard to stop, "I can't deal with not _knowing_ anymore. I left last summer to step out of you and Demming's way, and when I got back, you're with Josh, and what do I know? Nothing. I don't know anything. All I know is that I lost again without even knowing that I was in the game."

"Castle, haven't you been listening?" She began sternly, backing him up against the wall with a finger to his chest. "Rick, I love you, and I _will_ chose you, you aren't losing this 'game'," she used air quotes, "I'll end things with Josh right now, if that makes you feel any better, but you need to know that you didn't lose then, and you aren't losing now."

He let out the breath he had been holding and hung his head. "I'm sorry, I can't help myself."

"I know, you've been dosed with truth serum, kind of turns off your brain to mouth filter…" she paused only for a moment, "and here I thought that you already had it turned off." She slapped her hand over her mouth.

"I see it's affecting you as well," he chuckled.

"Shut up Castle, I have a phone call to make," she grinned at him before turning towards the door, "come on Castle, you don't want to miss this call."

He rubbed his hands together as he followed her, "Oh, no, this I wouldn't miss for the world."

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**AN: Gosh, I just can't help myself. I have published entirely too many prompts this week. ;)**

**As always, if you have any prompts you'd like me to write, submit on Tumblr or Twitter 'msmorg'**


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